Akttikick attachment fob



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0. BSCHOOLHELD ANTIKICK ATTACHMENT FOR GAS ENGINES. APPLICATION HLED AuG.1A.19|a.

Pateuted- Oct. 28,1919.

@Wr/Smc( OLIVER B. SCHOOLFIELD, OF MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.

ANTIKICK ATTACHMENI" FOR GAS-ENGINES.

Application filed August 14, 1918.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, OLIVER B. SCHOOL- rinLD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Memphis, Shelby county, and State of Tennessee, have invented and discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Antikick Attachments for Gas-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My said invention relates to safety devices as applied to internal combustion engines. It is a common practice in the operation of several makes of internal combustion engines to start the motor manually by means of a crank handle connected to the crank-shaft of the motor. The operator in this instance is very liable to become injured if care is not taken to position the timer so as to prevent the motor from backfiring, or exploding a charge as the piston is making its upward stroke, which would cause the crank-shaft to turn in the reverse direction.

One object of my invention is to prevent accidents from occurring by grounding the ignition current when the timer is not retarded to a safe position. This and other objects will be apparent from the disclosure.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, in which like characters represent similar parts in the several views,

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view showing the timer and a portion of the starting crank of an engine with my invention applied thereto:

Fig. 2, a detail section on the dotted line 2-2 in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3, a similar view on the dotted line 3-3 in Fig. 1.

In the said drawings the portion marked A represents the timer, B a portion of the starting crank, and O the generator of an engine of the internal combustion type.

The timer A comprises a casing 20 which carries the fourv insulated binding posts 21 which are connected to the coil 25 by means of independent wires 23 combining to form a cable 24: which leads to the generator O. From the secondary of the coil 25 leads a cable 36 composed of four wires 37 which lead to the spark plugs 22.

The casing 20 is held in place by means of'a fiat spring 26 which is secured to the engine casing by the bolt 27. Mounted on the front of said spring 26 is a block of insulating material 28 while beneath the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 28, 1919.

Serial No. 249,869.

spring is a metal plate 29. These members 28 and 29 are adjustably clamped to the spring 26 by means of a pair of screws 30 and 31 which also serve to hold a spring contact member 32 that normally lies in Contact with a screw 33. Said screw 33 is insulated from the screws 30 and 31 as shown in Fig. 3, but it is connected to the collar 15 by means of a wire 34. The collar 16 is connected with the generator O by means of awire 35.

The crank B consists of a shaft 10 slidably mounted in a bearing 11 and having secured thereto one member 12 of a clutch, all of which are of. a well known design. An eX- tension 13 of the 'bearing 11 has mounted thereon an insulating sleeve 111 upon which are clamped a pair of collars 15 and 16. The collar 15 is designed to clamp one end of a spring lever 17 which is designed to contact at certain times with the collar 16 as will be explained later. The lever 17 is composed of a flat strip of spring metal bent into the form of a compound curve with its free end 18 upturned so that it may at times be lifted by the extension 19 forming part of the clutch member 12.

This device is operated through the well known principle that electricity follows thepath of the least resistance, therefore when the operator wishes to start his motor, he first pushes the starting crank in, as shown in full lines Fig. 1) which causes the spring lever 17 to drop into engagement with the collar 16, thereby closing the circuit as far as the contact screw 33. As a matter of illustration, I have shown the timer in the advanced position which would ordinarily cause the engine to hack-lire. When in this position the lug on the casing 2O is out of contact with the contact member 32 which is thereby permitted to Contact with the contact,screw 33 completing the circuit from the generator C to the spring 26 which is grounded on the motor casing. With the parts in the position shown, the engine would start as the sparker would get no current, but with the timer in the position shown by the dotted lilies, the lug 38 on the casing 20 will have moved the contact member 32 out of contact with the screw 33 thereby opening the grounding circuit which causes the current to pass from the generator C through the coil 25 in which it is intensified, through the timer A and selectively to the spark plugs 22. It can be readily seen that although this last mentioned circuit is always complete, the coil 25 will offer sufficient resistance to the small amount of current generated during the operation of cranking to cause the current to take the grounded path when the timer is in the advanced position. It is therefore apparent that the engine can not be started until the timer is moved into the retarded or safe position.

Having thus fully described my said invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A device for preventing the back-re of internal combustion engines comprising an electrical generator mounted in circuit with the spark plugs of the engine and the timer, an auxiliary circuit connected with the generator and grounded on .the engine, and means carried by the timer for breaking the last named circuit when the spark is retarded, substantially as set forth.

2. In an internal combustion engine have ing the usual generator, timer and spark plugs, the combination of a circuit connecting said generator, timer and spark plugs, a pair of separate circuits grounding the generator, a starting crank, means carried by said starting crank for breaking one of the circuits when the crank is in inoperative position, and means carried by the timer for breaking the last named circuit when said timer is retarded, substantially as set forth.

3. In an internal combustion engine having the usual generator, timer, spark plugs and circuits connecting the'same, the combination of an auxiliary circuit connected with the generator and grounded on the engine, a pair of spring switches in said circuit, means carried by the timer for opening one of said switches when the timer is retarded, a starting crank, and means carried by said crank for opening the other of said switches when the crank is in inoperative position, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 7th day of August, A. D. nine teen hundred and eighteen.

OLIVER B. SCHOOLFIELD.

Witnesses T. PULLEN, FRANK THOMPSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cent: each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Walhinzton, D. C. 

